The constitutional convention

by | Jul 14, 2023 | political science

 

 

 

https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/the-constitutional-convention/the-plans-at-the-convention/Links to an external site.
Write 1 page on one (1) document per module,
Primary documents are letters, newspapers, laws, or other forms of communication that occurred during the time period being studied. When studying the American Revolution, an example of a primary document would be the Declaration of Independence. You should give a summary of the primary document. Some of the questions that should be included in your answer would be the following:

1. Who wrote the document and when was it written?
2. Who was the intended audience?
3. What was the purpose of the document?
4. What was one of the most important or most important line from the document?

 

Sample Solution 

One of the most important lines: “Resolved, That a national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme legislative, executive, and judiciary.”

Sample Solution 

One of the most important lines: “Resolved, That a national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme legislative, executive, and judiciary.”

The constitutional convention

Document: Virginia Plan

Author: Edmund Randolph, presented to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787

Intended Audience: The delegates to the Constitutional Convention

Purpose: To propose a plan for the new federal government

One of the most important lines: “Resolved, That a national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme legislative, executive, and judiciary.”

The Virginia Plan was one of the first plans for the new federal government to be presented at the Constitutional Convention. It was authored by Edmund Randolph, a delegate from Virginia. The plan proposed a strong central government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch would be bicameral, with a lower house elected by the people and an upper house elected by the state legislatures. The executive branch would be headed by a president, who would be elected by the legislature. The judicial branch would be headed by a supreme court, which would be appointed by the legislature.

The Virginia Plan was met with mixed reactions from the delegates. Some delegates, such as James Madison, supported the plan because they believed that a strong central government was necessary to protect the country from foreign threats and to prevent the states from becoming too powerful. Other delegates, such as William Paterson, opposed the plan because they believed that it gave too much power to the central government and would infringe on the rights of the states.

The Virginia Plan was eventually modified to become the basis for the United States Constitution. However, the final version of the Constitution did not give as much power to the central government as the Virginia Plan had proposed.

The Virginia Plan was an important document in the development of the United States Constitution. It helped to shape the debate over the structure of the new federal government and ultimately led to the creation of a strong central government with limited powers.

Here are some additional questions that you could ask about the Virginia Plan:

  • What were the main strengths and weaknesses of the Virginia Plan?
  • How did the Virginia Plan influence the development of the United States Constitution?
  • What are the implications of the Virginia Plan for the modern United States government?

 

 

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